100+ Ex-Prosecutors Question Chicago US Atty's Leadership

By Celeste Bott

More than 100 former Illinois federal prosecutors issued a statement Monday saying there's been a "failure of leadership" in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and that "once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions" in the wake of an Illinois federal judge accusing the office of mishandling grand jury proceedings in a case against six immigration activists.

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Trump's $100K H-1B Fee Is Unauthorized Tax, Judge Rules

By Britain Eakin

A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Monday that President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa payment constitutes a tax that Congress did not authorize the president to impose, declaring the fee unlawful and vacating it in its entirety.

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Warranty Seller Wins Injunction For Rival's Deceptive Calls

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge has enjoined a Chicago-area extended auto warranty service's rival from violating trademark and competition laws in a dispute over its allegedly deceptive customer calls and web impersonation, saying the company is likely to prove the conduct was illegal.

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7th Circ. Denies Spousal Petition Review After Conviction

By Elaine Briseño

An American man convicted of sexually abusing a minor cannot sponsor his wife for a green card, the Seventh Circuit ruled after concluding it lacks the authority to review immigration officials' assessment that he may pose a risk to her.

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NCUA Moves To Preempt Ill. Swipe-Fee Law For Credit Unions

By Jon Hill

The National Credit Union Administration moved Monday to shield federal credit unions from state-level efforts to limit swipe fees, issuing a fast-tracked rule that escalates national regulatory pushback against the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act.

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DC Circ. Backs FERC Rejection Of Grid-Planning Deal

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was allowed to reject a proposal by PJM transmission owners that would've allowed the regional grid operator to make grid-planning decisions without the approval of its members committee over an issue with a single amendment, the D.C. Circuit has said.

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Justices Won't Review Van Gogh Painting Recovery Dispute

By Hope Patti

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not review a decision affirming the dismissal of a suit brought by a German Jewish art collector's heirs who sought to recover Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting from a Japanese insurance company.

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7th Circ. Says Wis. County Jail Must Face Forced Labor Suit

By Gina Kim

The Seventh Circuit revived a lawsuit alleging Kenosha County forced civil immigrant detainees housed at its jail to do unpaid janitorial work or be punished, ruling Friday the forced labor statute doesn't allow local jails to force detainees to work "on pain of solitary confinement" or loss of phone privileges. 

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7th Circ. Says Hotel Must Rehire Worker Fired Over Knife

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Friday affirmed an arbitration award requiring a Chicago hotel group to reinstate a union employee fired for displaying a knife at work, saying the arbitrator deemed the incident nonviolent and that courts can't second-guess an arbitrator's factual conclusions.

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PBGC Backs 'Full Value' Pension Exit Credits At 7th Circ.

By Grace Elletson

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. urged the Seventh Circuit to reject a Teamsters pension plan's bid to reinstate a $23 million withdrawal liability bill against a concrete company, asking the court to endorse a methodology giving companies full credit for partial plan withdrawals if they later make a complete exit.

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Gibson Dunn, PE Firm Pay Charity $1M For Knicks VIP Seats

By Dorothy Atkins

Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital split the $1 million winning bid for two "Celebrity Row" seats in a Knicks fundraiser ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the team's parent company announced Monday.

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Groom Law Joins Firms Matching New Milbank Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group is the latest firm to match a new pay scale for associates that was set earlier this month by Milbank LLP, according to media reports Monday.

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9th Circ. Judge Faces Inquiry, Charges After Idaho Altercation

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Monday identified a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson after he was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an argument in an Idaho Falls parking lot that ended with him allegedly stomping a man's eyeglasses on the asphalt.

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Analysis

How A Texas Pastor Beat Mark Zuckerberg In Landmark Trial

By Craig Clough

Jurors who reached a landmark $6 million verdict in March finding Meta Platforms Inc. and Google liable for harming a teen's mental health didn't find Mark Zuckerberg credible, an impression that the plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier credited to putting the well-prepared executive off his guard.

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King & Spalding May Be Sanctioned In $300M Fraud Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

Two King & Spalding LLP partners face a sanctions hearing in a $300 million fraud lawsuit to determine whether they violated a rule requiring candor to the tribunal by falsely claiming attorneys for other parties were copied on letters to two Connecticut jurists, according to two state court orders.

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Another Lawmaker Joins Impeachment Push For Ga. Judge

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican House member on Monday introduced articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia after she was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her chambers within earshot of staff.

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Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Non-Attys

By Emma Cueto

Colorado has enacted a ban on lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyer-owned firms, such as alternative businesses in Arizona, as well as a prohibition on deals with managed services organizations that involve paying a percentage of firm income.

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Brief

Todd Blanche Officially Nominated To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday officially nominated Todd Blanche to be attorney general.

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Trump Taps DC Appeals Court Picks To Fill Final Vacancies

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced two picks for the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will fill the remaining vacancies on the District of Columbia's top court.

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Mich. Dems Back Trump Judicial Pick After Blue-Slip Review

By Courtney Bublé

Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, announced on Monday they've returned their blue slips for the nomination of Michael Martin, a veteran career prosecutor, to be a judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

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Chapman Law School Dean Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

By Hailey Konnath

The former dean of Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law says the university unlawfully fired him because he's gay and married to a man, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

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NJ Senators Advance Litigation Funding Disclosure Bill

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey state senators on Monday advanced legislation that would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements over the objections of trial lawyers and litigation finance representatives, who warned that the bill could discourage funding for plaintiffs involved in costly cases.

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Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline Stays During Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Monday kept intact a reprimand against a law student who allegedly celebrated following the death of Charlie Kirk during an appeal, saying that the student "again seeks the wrong remedy" in her request.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein's Sentencing Delayed To July

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge has agreed to push SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's sentencing to July, after federal prosecutors speculated that his defense attorneys might come to the previously scheduled June hearing and declare that they aren't ready to proceed.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser

By Emily Field

When Elizabeth Cabraser began working with Robert Lieff as a clerk at his small practice in Northern California in the late 1970s, fresh out of law school, her job was to help him dispose of his remaining cases so he could retire early and become a winemaker.

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